Wichita eagle., 1887-09-02
CROP PROSPECTS.

The Kansas Farmer publishes brief re-
ports from eighty seven special crop CORES
| pOndents in as many different counties OF
| the state. The intention was to have the
| reports complete and truthful, and it is be-
lieved they are so. The letters are In re-
Spouse to questions sent out as follows:
Weather since June--chinch bugs-how
general in your county, and how much
damage did they effect? Were they worse
than the dry weather? Be clear and full
on this polnt.--Wheat? Acreage to be
seeded? On what kind of ground? How
prepared? CoTns Conditions How
affected by dry weather and bugs? What
proportion of an average crop?--Grass?
Potatoes? Vegetables Stock? Feed
will there be enough to carry you
through the winter?''
A reading of these interesting letters dis
closes the following general facts: The
season has been peculiar in several respects
Good corn, poor corn and total failure of
corn found in small areas-sometimes on
adjoining farms. Hot winds with pecu-
liar effects blew on two particular days and
destroyed the fresh corn tassels wherever
they struck them. The stalk grew right
on, but the tassel was dead, and, of course,
there are no corn ears in such fields. In
many places the rainfall was sufficient to
produce crop, for good crops have been
raised on the same grounds in certain other
years with less rain than fell there this year
and there were not bugs enough to do
much damage. But corn failed there this
year. 1t is the opinion of farmers in such
localities that the trouble Icy in the
dryness of the subsoil. Rains were
scattering. Enough rain fell In the
state during the growing season, if it had
been well distributed, to produce average
crops; but there were dry spots in at least
three-fourths of the state, in some of which
with the help of chinch bugs, corn amounts
to little. 1t appears, however that not a
single county was so completely ignored as
to deprivei it wholly of farm products. There
will be rough feed in every county sufficient
fer home use, and the number that will not
have corn enough is very small indeed.
Some farmers, and some neighborhooGs
will have to purchase corn, but they
will not be compelled to go outside of
their own counties as rule
Taking the state over, the total
quantity Of corn raised will amount to 40
per cent. of fair crop of the acres planted.
An analysis of the reports shows some
special facts of interest OF the eighty
seven counties reporting, twentysix of
them report one-half crop of corn and up.
wards; fourteen report one,third of a crop;
thirteen report one-fourth; nine report one
fifth; six report two-thirds, and nineteen
report three-fourths. Fifty one counties
report enough corn for home .nse some of
them barely enough, some plenty, some
surplus. Fifty eight counties report stock
feed, as hay, corn fodder, ETC., plenty,
many of them more than enough,
and all the rest report
feed enough to carry the home stock
through the winter if carefully saved and
judiciously fed. There is plenty CT farm
produce of all kinds In the state to supply
the home demand, but it will have to be |
distributed among those farmers that have |
not enough for their own raising. Forty
six counties will reduce the wheat acreage |
below that of lest year, aud eleven counties |
will increase it. The other counties will |
SOW about the same acreage. A large
majority of the correspondents believe the
;hinch bugs did more damage to crops than
vas done by dry and spotted weather